This week's LVW column features Avril Lavigne's Make 5 Wishes and The Professor's Daughter. You probably don't need anyone to tell you that the latest Sfar book from First Second is totally awesome, but well, it's totally awesome.
The Avril amerimanga, on the other hand, is something I suspect a lot of non-Avril Lavigne fans will turn their noses up at, but it's actually quite good, if you like that sort of thing (And by "that sort of thing," I mean comcis for little girls. And I love that sort of thing).
In other assorted linkage,The Beat has DC's March sales figures and analysis. It's a kick reading Marc-Oliver Frisch summing up the shipping problems with the Superman books in a few paragraphs of objective prose; the scheduling is getting so sublimely ridiculous that now even the fill-ins have fill-ins.
Based on the numbers, it looks like Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis is pretty much sunk at this point—Tad Williams' first issue sold only 18, 997 copies, a thousand more than Busiek's last issue, but the book's doing slightly worse than it was two years ago (the Sub Diego bullshit) and a lot worse than when the "OYL" direction started a year ago.
At this point I think it would probably be best to return Orin, cancel it and leave the property dormant until Geoff Johns makes room in his schedule to do for this second-tier Justice Leaguer what he's previously done for Flash, Green Latnern and Hawkman. Selling in the same neighborhood are Blue Beetle, All-New Atom and Manhunter. I was really surprised to see how poorly the two Classifieds are doing, considering their parent books are two of DC's most succesful titles. Both are such incredibly wasted opportunities, and I find it genuinely shocking that DC hasn't figured out how to capitalize on the parent books' success in these spin-offs—it's not exactly rocket science, you know?
Over at Newsarama, Team Best Shots is doing a series of special articles focusing on Top Shelf Productions' output this week. The first piece, which consists of me reviewing every Top Shelf book on my bookshelf (Save the Alan Moore and Alex Robinson ones) is currently up; pieces by Troy Brownfield and Michael C. Lorah should follow shortly.
Finally, this weeked The Condemned opens. Don't see it; it sucks. If you don't believe me, just read this review by DoneWaiting.com's film critic. Comic fans may take note that the heavy is played by X-Men: The Last Stand's Juggernaut Vinnie Jones, who's actually the third biggest guy on the cast. It's plot also resembles the Mojo arc of Ultimate X-Men and the Deadpool arc of Ultimate Spider-Man exactly, only without all the mutants. Or quality. (I'm not saying The Condemned is ripping off those stories, mind you; it's pretty clear all three took their inspiration from Battle Royale).
I got to see an actual comic book movie today in a critics screening, and, good God, that franchise just gets better and better. More on that particular film soon. But...wow.
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